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Thread: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

  1. #151
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    These little cut outs again, they take some time to do, patience is thinner than it was early in the project so I mixed it up doing a bit on the front panel & then do 1 of the easier panels going back & forth, gave an ok feeling of making solid progress while fixing a botched panel rather than just re make the botched panel.


    Gamer bottom, applied a template to it for the mounting holes & 92mm fan hole.


    Filling panel & with it being a filling panel this is 1 of the many panels that will be put on a harsh diet once everything is together.


    Just taking a break & killing time while my mp3 player charges back up so thought may as well do a mini update.

  2. #152
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Drill helper in action.


    Takes the unpredictability of the drill bit wandering out of the bulls eye so thanks again Angel OD really helps hit the bulls eye every single time & easily, it's even far better than my cheap drill press which is prone to wandering away from the bulls eye so isn't a very useful drill press really, it can sway away as much as 2mm, only thing that would make the drill helper better is if it was stainless steel & a bit wider to be easier to clamp & so it stays in good form for longer so it can have it's permanent place alongside my rulers & squares so have ordered 2x 25mm x 10mm x 245mm flat bars to make a couple so I can use the 2 for drilling the centre of rods also.

    I'm that happy with the drill helper I see it as an essential tool now so it's worth making a nice strong one that will last, aluminium ones need re making regular. Two of these will be made in stainless steel either tomorrow or the day after.


    While re making the front panel I was switching over to some of the 2mm parts but didn't take pictures of them all, final details like sanding edges completely flat are still needed to be done on them but next update I should have quite a bunch of parts made, the small bevel with an awkward corner bit I did with a small file I don't usually use but it did the job very nicely, just needs about another 3 hours of attention to the overall panel but I'll keep mixing it up so I'm making other parts at the same time which will keep my mind in a fresher state.






    Would have finished this panel & a bunch of others yesterday but I passed out when I went for what was meant to be a 10 minute break, was about 3/4 the way though a 30 odd hour modathon, the 30c temp helped put me to sleep also, just glad I didn't sit outside as I'd have got toasted.

    Back to modding I go.

  3. #153
    The floppy drive is no longer obsolete. AmEv's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    You needed the sleep.

    We'd rather have the project take longer than expected due to getting more sleep that you being permanently hospitalized from sleep deprivation, and the project never gets done.
    Two years. They were great. Let's make the next ones even better!

    Tri.fecta

  4. #154
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Quote Originally Posted by AmEv View Post
    You needed the sleep.

    We'd rather have the project take longer than expected due to getting more sleep that you being permanently hospitalized from sleep deprivation, and the project never gets done.
    True it's just sometimes my sleep pattern goes right out of sync & I find the best way to fix it is stay up until the next night & then get a good sleep, neighbours were away so was able to mod through the night, I do listen to my body though when I need to.

    Today I just dedicated to finishing the re make of the front panel & it's nice to be back in the progress zone.








    Tomorrow is easy parts time.

  5. #155
    The floppy drive is no longer obsolete. AmEv's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    How's this:

    Next time I've got A: cash, and B: I see one of the famous Micron cases at a thrift shop, I'm sending it your way, because I know you're going to keep it awesome.

    How's that sound?
    Two years. They were great. Let's make the next ones even better!

    Tri.fecta

  6. #156
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Quote Originally Posted by AmEv View Post
    How's this:

    Next time I've got A: cash, and B: I see one of the famous Micron cases at a thrift shop, I'm sending it your way, because I know you're going to keep it awesome.

    How's that sound?
    I'm a tiny bit confused by your comment AmEv, shipping from US to UK would be far higher cost than the case also.

    I had to clear out all my old butchered retail cases about 2 years ago, picked through them all for anything useful though & put them in a box, was a sad day having to get rid, but they was all taking up a good bit of space so had to be done really, did have my first beige box built like a tank that went also, actually I gave that to 1 of the neighbors even further ago, they really made them very strong in the 90s & before then but thanks to the beige boxes modding started blooming.


    Weekend didn't quite go to plan but was fun, "was" set to do 2 very big sessions this weekend but kinda been looking forward to Max Payne 3 & when I went to the supermarket to stock up on coffee sugar & milk I seen it sat on the shelf while walking past the entertainment section & I just couldn't resist, was like a powerful magnet that pulled me towards it to buy it & completed last night early hours so got heavily side tracked by an awesome game, was a fun ride though & my system with single GTX 580 handled it perfectly on max settings at 2560x1440, many of the levels look amazing & the gun-play rocks, only used the matrix slow downs a couple of times when I was getting whooped too many times, more fun playing it raw.

    Erm, sorry about that I'm 50/50 gamer/modder so can easily get distracted by awesome games, back on topic.


    Started on making the custom fan frames, managed cutting it easy enough but the 2mm alu didn't have laser film on which helps to hold templates down & instead has the more typical flimsy plastic coating so when getting around to the final side it had risen flapping about & the template was useless so I fluffed up the cut pretty badly IMO.

    Template side looks ok.


    Side view you can see how the template had risen enough to flap about while the blade goes up/down making it impossible to see what your doing properly.


    Template & backing removed which shows a nice big defect on the right side.


    If I'd have swerved away from the cut line to clear the impossible to see bit where I was cutting I'd have been able to file down the rest easily so I'll do that for all the others now but this 1 needs re doing.

    These 2 2mm strip pieces are filler pieces for the gaming rig.


    On to the fan controller, no branding thank you.






    Panel I pre-drilled a bunch of days ago but finished off the drilling for the control knobs & cut out today.




    The stock one has 1mm sheet folded over connecting the unit to the front stock panel so I used spring washers to fill the spec & 6mm countersunk stainless steel screws.


    Altogether, another example of why I love digital callipers & printing designs, it's spot on, the protective film is staying on the LCD until it's ready for use & I might have a go at making custom control knobs also if I feel like it when adding finishing touches.






    Fan controller aligns to this bevelled bottom area once I get the acrylic cut & bevelled.




    I'm not going to say I'll do some tomorrow since I keep slipping on what I say I'll do & then don't for whatever reason but hopefully I will get back into regular updates tomorrow lol, been very herky jerky since May which was a bit of a bad month.

  7. #157
    The floppy drive is no longer obsolete. AmEv's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    ^What I mean is, I'd strip the case bare, then ship the light box to you.

    All at my expense.
    (Unless you wanted to chip in some.. <_< >_>)
    Two years. They were great. Let's make the next ones even better!

    Tri.fecta

  8. #158
    Mentally Underclocked mDust's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Freakin' wild! I have never seen anything like that (except maybe the fan openings as the windows in StarWars). The amount of work already put into it is unbelievable. You should get some sort of award for that...do they have a Nobel Prize for modding yet?

    To be quite honest, I don't even like the case...but hear me out. It's a bit too wild for my taste. This is just my opinion, and too be fair, my opinion is pretty worthless in this scenario. My disliking it doesn't make it any less awesome, interesting, or inspiring. (In fact, a couple pics here inspired the shape of a case I was thinking about.) I do, however, like that 10mm alu and all the time and effort put into it...I can't even believe it was all done manually! *High five* I'm sure the pics can't even do those finished edges justice... +rep man! Keep up the awesome work!

    I feel that we need a button to subscribe to all future projects!
    I'll procrastinate tomorrow.

  9. #159
    The floppy drive is no longer obsolete. AmEv's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Quote Originally Posted by mDust View Post
    I feel that we need a button to subscribe to all future projects!
    http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...iption&t=28404
    http://www.thebestcasescenario.com/f...t=buddy&u=9485

    Two years. They were great. Let's make the next ones even better!

    Tri.fecta

  10. #160
    Now making cases for the heck of it =) Waynio's Avatar
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    Default Re: Lean and Green - modular dual PC scratch build

    Quote Originally Posted by AmEv View Post
    ^What I mean is, I'd strip the case bare, then ship the light box to you.

    All at my expense.
    (Unless you wanted to chip in some.. <_< >_>)
    For me to mod or to preserve, think that's what I'm puzzled about can't be to preserve it, you wanna see me mod the original beige box that made people get into modding eh.

    I do like seeing what other modders do with them I also like how they are built like tanks.

    If I did would you want it to remain beige but with a heavy load of modding done to it for a laugh. Be interesting to see if it was nicely doable really.

    It is very possible I'll be doing my first public show case mod sometime soon though, recently acquired a Corsair R300 which is a budget case, cheaper the case, the better for modding into something great I think.

    Quote Originally Posted by mDust View Post
    Freakin' wild! I have never seen anything like that (except maybe the fan openings as the windows in StarWars). The amount of work already put into it is unbelievable. You should get some sort of award for that...do they have a Nobel Prize for modding yet?

    To be quite honest, I don't even like the case...but hear me out. It's a bit too wild for my taste. This is just my opinion, and too be fair, my opinion is pretty worthless in this scenario. My disliking it doesn't make it any less awesome, interesting, or inspiring. (In fact, a couple pics here inspired the shape of a case I was thinking about.) I do, however, like that 10mm alu and all the time and effort put into it...I can't even believe it was all done manually! *High five* I'm sure the pics can't even do those finished edges justice... +rep man! Keep up the awesome work!

    I feel that we need a button to subscribe to all future projects!
    Thanks Dust appreciated mate, to be honest even I don't know what to make of my own design lmao I set out firstly to do excellent functionality which I feel I have nailed, but the shell & styling which greets the eye first of all I wasn't really going in any direction other than thinking it was looking too plain & lacking detail & wanted it to look interesting so I kept adding more & more trying to wrap the pattern all around the case so it flowed nicely around it, I could pick a popular thing & do something based around it which wouldn't be so alien to people, when going themeless, minimal & classic looking seems to work very well but heavily detailed like this, the work load impresses people but mostly doesn't win for onlookers seeing it as too busy, I don't mind that though & understand it, it was always the functionality of modding that got me into it in the beginning of the hobby & been trying to make them look nicer but realised I don''t seem to manage that with the type of thing I like in a personal rig but in the process my skills have grown nicely & feel I could make whatever I want to now.

    I'm sure I will have a go at a themed project some time though which won't be so alien to onlookers.

    --
    Update
    Craig toyoracer mentioned about the distance of cut work earlier in the project & since then I've been curious to know & figured some new things out on sketchup, 1 bit being seeing the length of all edges.

    I'll be going waaaaaay past 100 meters of cut work on this by the time it's complete, no wonder it's taken so long & still so much ahead, this is truly good scroll saw exercise though, incredibly dreary but good exercise which helps make things easier in the future, this is why it's so daunting going at the panels on this, you just know it takes a long time to do & you need a special mind-set to not think about that & just go at it else you can wind up thinking too much of how long it takes which is where I'm stuck at the moment, I had the same problem while doing the gamer side panels, I know the solution but it's moving to it that isn't easy.

    Gamer side panels as expected are the craziest coming in at just shy of 15 meters each, this will be why they took like 2 massive sessions to do each one.


    But the craziest IMHO is yet to be done, the lowest front pattern is small 180mm x 86mm & weighs in at 7 meters of very intricate cutting, this piece was going to be in 3mm Maple wood which would have been easy & speedy to drill & cut but is now 3mm aluminium so think it's gonna be hell to do & I can easily see myself having big difficulties doing just the drilling alone on that because only a 1mm drill bit will be able to give access to many of the tight waves & here is the problem I keep breaking the 1mm bits when drilling 3mm aluminium with my tight budget drill press so a redesign of that part might be needed, I'll soon find out, hope I can drill it though without getting too many broken drill bits, I'm bound to get at least 1, they break real easily.


    It puts things into better perspective knowing how much actual distance I've been doing, gives me a good idea of how much I can get through in a certain amount of time so I could now go at it with a realistic goal checkpoint to reach before calling it a day but the thickness is a mystery factor if not worked before, this is for sure.

    I was looking around for a good pedestal to put this on when it's done but I don't fancy paying £200+ for a nice one when I think of the materials I could buy instead with a lot less & I want to be sure it will be strong enough, this is first version so no doubt I'll develop it further but I think this will be the basic form of it.








    Looks even more strange now I'd say that's because this is the vanilla v0.1 but if I do do something like this I will make a 3mm panel that is like a tracing of the bottom of the rig so it slots in place when putting it on.


    Figured I'd better show some actual real stuff also.
    2 extra fan frame pieces, they were made extra difficult to make with the templates coming loose, 1 more method to try for getting a good stick before I just stick them to the bare aluminium but I think that will give the best sticking power.


    Luckily I didn't see how the fan controller fits into the front panel so have something good to show.




    There is still an acrylic piece to be made that goes over the control knobs & continues the bevel edge to make a surrounding bevel round the display & gives the aluminium underneath a different tone.

    More soon.

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